Wardrobe trunk



Dec. 22,1925. 1,566,956

A. L. DUFF ET AL wAR'DRoBE TRUNK Filed Jan. 10,1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 m @DA 6M@ N@ @m Q'i\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\v WIT/VESSES INVENTORS 5155236. ,Zu/"F y :m55 ame-50N W e, E T] M70/MHS Y Dec. 22, 1925. I

, A. L. DUFF ET AL `RDROBE TRUNK Fil'ed Jari. 10.1922

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1,566,956 A. L. DUFF Er AL WARDROBE TRUNK Filed Jan.. 10,1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 25 /N VE N T035 #Lafer L. DUFF WITNESS/SS Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

. UNITED y 1,566,956 PnTENr oFFicE.

ALBERT L. DUFF ANI) JAMES WM. MATHESON, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK; SAID IDUIT ASSIGNOR T0 SAID MATRIMONI WABDBBE TRUNK.

application nled January 10, wat.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, ALBERT L. Dunn and JAMES W. ltda'rnneona citizens of the United States, and residents ot the city of New York, borough ot lroolrlyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Wardrobe Trunk, of which the following is a description.

The general object o our invention is to provide a unitary trunk body, tree from the weakness ot a body composed ot hinged sections and having a chest ot drawers ot desirable capacity as well as characterized by am le garment hanging space and provided wit a convenient arrangement oi' garment supporting means.

A further object ot our invention is to provide novel garment-supporting means particularly adapted for a unitary trunk body as characterized above and whereby to attain the maximum accessibility ot the hun garments and promote convenience in the anging and removal vci the garments.

The invention contemplates also clamping means tor the hung garments coordinated with the novel garment supporting means referred to.

rihe invention furthermore has tor an object to provide a unitary trunk as characterized having a vertical partition between the chest of drawers and t e garment-hanging space and to provide swinging doors ot which one is adapted to close over the chest of drawers and arranged to be locked to the ,partition in a manner that the chest of drawers may remain covered by its door and the ,latter locked while leaving the door in front of the garment-hanging space free to be opened or closed, as desired.

The manner and means whereb the above and other objects are attained will be clear trom the detail description following.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawin s forming a part of this specication, it eing understood that the drawings are merely illustrative of one example ofthe invention.

Figure l is a perspective view of a wardrobe trunk embodying our invention, the doors being shown open;

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section throu h a portion or thechest of drawers as indicated by the line 2 2, of Figure'l;

Figure 3 is a horizontal 'section taken above the garment supporting means;

Serial tto. atenta.

Fimire It is a front elevation of the guard constituting the backboard of the garmentsupporting means;

Figure 5 is a vertical section through the supporting means as indicated by the line 5--5, Figure 4c;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional plan view of the trunk, the section. being taken through the garment-hanging space above the clamping means;

Figure 'l' is a fragmentary vertical section showing the garment-supporting means and the track rails therefor in side elevation;

Figure 8 is a vertical section as indicated by the line 88, Figure l;

Figure 9 is a tramentary perspective view showing the loc ring means :tor lthat door coverin the chest of drawers;

Fi re l0 is a vertical section on the line itl-l0, Figure 9;

Fgure 11 is perspective view ot one end ot one et the garment clamping bars;

Fi re l2 is a side elevation ot modified whee and tracks for the baclrboard carriego;

Figure i3 is a fragmentary perspective view given to show a modified torna ot the elements adapted to :term extensions ot the traclr rails and constituting a support tor the garment-supporting means.

ln carrying out our invention in accordance with the illustrated erample, a single bor-like body l0 is provided having a vertical partition ll at ap ronimately the medial plane of the body. At one side ot the partill 'Ill

tid

tition is a chest ot drawers l2 separated by horizontal partitions 13, the body at the opposite side ot the partition ll adording a space 1d lor hung garments. itt the bottom ot the body the same is given the form ot a shallow bon 15 tor shoes, etc., said bon having a slide cover 16 in the clothes hanging compartment la,

The front ot the bod is closed by a suitable door or doors; a vantageously a air of doors 17 is provided which are ot l.- orm being priovided with rearwardly directed extensions l?n hinged at their rear edges as at 18 and formino part of the sides ot the trunk when the doors are closed. llt the same time the form of the doors and their hinging rearward of the plane of the trunk front mcreases the front opening and the accessibility ot the trunk when the doors are opened..

Vbe clamped between the arms of a To lock that door 17 which is adapted to fold against the front of the lchest o drawers 12 we rovide a locking means as follows: On t e partition 11 adjacent to the front edge is a lock 20 here conventionally shown and in practice of any approved form, the numeral 19 indicating the escutcheon. On the door which closes over the drawers 12 at the inner side of said door, we provide a hinge element 21 having at its lower edge a laterally directed flange 22 ada ted to extend into a transverse slot 23 in t e partition 11 above the lock 20, said flange having a vertical hole 22a adapted to receive the bolt 20a of lock 20. For lookin the two outer doors together anv suitab e locking means may be employe there being conventionally Indicated in the resent example a known form of trunk ook 24.

In the garment han ing compartment 14 near the top, we provi e on the partition 11 and on the body at the opposite side of said com artment lpairs ot upper and klower track rails 25 on which travels, a carriage having in the illustrated form side members in theform of plates 26 equip ed with wheels 27 to run respectively on t e to the upper rails and at the under side o the lower rails 25, the` arrangement of the wheels4 reventin tilting of the carriage on the trac under t e weight of the hung garments. The opposite side members 26 are connected by the backboard 28 of the garment-supporting means. Said backboard inthe present instance is formed from a channel bar, the flanges projecting forward-,-

ly and the ends 29 of the back of said channel bar extending through the side members 26 and being disposed between the upper and lower track rails 25 of a air as will be clear from, Figures 4,- 5 and The backboard 28 is equipped with a series of hanger arms 30 disposed in pairs as is customary so that a garment may pair. The inner ends of the supporting arms 30 are suitably pivoted for lateral swinging movement there being shown straps 31 on therear ends of the arms extending about vertical pivot pins 32 riveted to the upper in wardrobe trunks,

I, and lower flanges of the channel backboard Aof the arms 30 27. The arms 30 are provided with means to suspend the clothes hangers A which may be of any a proved type, there being in the illustrate form a loop 34 rigid on one of each pair in which loop the hanger hook a is ada ted to engage.

' At the front ends of t e rails 25 we provide auxiliary rail sections 35 suitably 'pivoted at their inner ends as at 36 to be swung to` positions extending forwardly to consti- I tute extensionsv of the rails a trunk body 25 beyond the or torfold to inner positions athwart the space 14. In the inner posiofd tions the overlapped rail sections35 are secured to each other by suitable fastening means which may, as shown, consist of a bolt 37 on one arm- 30 of a pair and a wing nut 38 on said stud. The arms 30 of a pair have suitable clamp means, there being shown a bolt 30 on one arm of a pair and a turnable head 30b on said stud adapted in one position to pass through a slot 30 in the other arm of the pair and be turned through 90 for clamping.

In order to limit the outward movement of the backboard 28, we provide on each of the extension track sections 35 at the under side a dependin stop lug 47, and it will be observed from igure 5 that the forward one of the lower wheels 27 is set back from the plane of the upper forward wheel to engage the stop at a proper point.

A modification of the wheeled structure and tracks is shown in Figure 12 in which track rails 25a are employed engaging toothed wheels 27a on the side members 26" appurtenant to the backboard 28".

In order to strengthen the trunk at the front corners and provide a resistance to any undue pressure or blow exerted on the oors 17, we provide vertical members 48 preferably in the form of metal rods located forwardly of the hinges 18 so as t0 lie in the entrant anfrles of the doors when closed. U A modication of. the rail extensions 35 1s shown in Figure 1 3 in which the extensions designated 35el are connected to the main rails-25 by pivots 36 as in the firstdescribed arrangement. In the form shown in Figure 13, the rail sections 35 instead of merel overlapping at the center as in the irstescribed arrangement, extend from one side rail 25 to a point adjacent to the opposite side rail 25. In the larger trunks the rail sections 35 that overlap at the medial plane of the hanger space 14 will suiiice because aording the necessary extensions of the rails 25 to ermit the arms 30 and the backboard of t e guard wheels to move outward a sufficient distance for the convenient manipulation of the arms 30 in placing and removing the garments. In small trunks, however, the reduced width of the space 14 makes it desirable that the track rail sections 35a extend each the full width of the hanger space in order to afford the necessary extension of the side rails 25.

In the inner transverse or nested position of the rail sections 35 or 35, said rail sections constitute a supporting means for the clamping of garments therebetween in addition to the garments on the hangers A loov Lacasse but also the garments may be thrown over the arms or additional hangers hooked over l' the tops of the arms.

It 1s to be noted that therigid trunk body accommodating the drawers 12 at one sideV and affording a hanger space at the other side is unsuited to ordinary garmentrow owin supporting means looking to al reasonable capacity. Our described garment-hanging means can be made to include a sufficient number of hanger arms to support a large number of garments and meet the requirements of the trade and trunk users. It will be observed that the arms 30 are disposed, when in the trunk, lying erpendicula:` to the plane of the trunk ront or approximately so and that thev backboard carrying the arms has a arallel movement to or trom the iront of t e trunk, the arms 30 moving, with the backboard, straight into and out of the trunk endwise, the movement being parallel with the sides oi the drawers l2.

The available garment hanging space in a trunk ci this general type is largely reduced due to the fact that the space is narto the presence of the drawers. ln rovi ing the improved garment supporting means as described the garmenthanging space is availed oi to the maximum extent. At the same time the arrangement of the garment supporting arms and their disposition and direction or movement coupled with the provision tor prcjecting them in a straight line beyond the iront,

' makes the accessibility oi the hung garments and the capacity of the supporting means all that can he desired, while retaining the recognized superiority of the rigid trunk body with respect to strength. Another advantage or" the described arrangement of a trunk constructed as described is that with the garment supporting arms carried to the outer position, they may be spread more or less into fan-like form and largely within the planes ot the sides of the trunk because the arms may be folded laterally at that side having the drawers so that the spread arms need not project at all or atleast project to the minimum extent laterally at that side of the trunk remote from the drawers and thereby little space need be available at a side of the trunk for the swinging of the arms in situations where room space is limited.

rlhe disposition of the garments when suspended from the particular supporting means described prevents the use ot' the usual clamping means provided in wardrobe trunks below the hangrs 'for exerting pressure on or clamping t e garments below, for which reason we provide special garment yclamping means coordinated with the described garment-supporting means, said clamping means comprising clamp bars 40 atleast two in number, to coact in clampzn a series of garments at the opposite sies. The bars 4() extend in a direction from front to rear, that is to say, with the positions and directions o movement of t e supporting arms. The ends of the bars 40 have hooks 40 thereon directed downwardly and each adapted to engage in a series of vertical holes 41 in a fixed bar 42 in the space 14 at the back and adapted to engage at their front ends in similar holes 43 in bar sections 44 which are hinged at their remote ends as at 45 to the partition 11 and to the opposite wall of the space la. The bar sections 44 are adapted to overlap, one overlapping end having a bolt 46 receiving a wing nut 47 or its equivalent. rllhus, the sections 44 may be raised to the supportin position and held together, or unfastene and permitted to drop to the dotted line position shown in Figure l when when the garment supporting means above is to be moved outwardly to carry the garments beyond the trunk.

We would state in conclusion that while the illustrated example constitutes a practical emhodiment of our invention, we do not limit ourselves strictly to the enact details herein illustrated, since, manifestly, the same can be considerably varied without departure from the spirit oi the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

l. ln a wardrobe trunk, aiment-supporting means including a bac board approximately parallel with the iront and back ot the trunk, anl movable therein toward or from the front, supportin arms mounted on said backboard to movegbodily therewith and extendin forward therefrom to be projected beyon the front of the trunk in the forward position ci the backboard, and means adapted to be positioned across the garment-hanging space at the front ol the trunk to constitute a support tor the torward ends ot said supporting arms when the trunk is closed.

2. lln a vwardrobe trunk, a backboard, a series of garment-su porting arms on said backboard and exten ing forward therefrom, main rails within the trunk, wheeled supports for said backboard adapted to travel on said rails, and auxiliary rail sections pivotally mounted to assume positions in line with the first mentioned rails, or to lie transversely in the trunk, said rail sections in the transverse positions constituting a support for the outer ends of said armentsupporting arms when the back card is moved to the inner position.

3. ln a wardrobe trunk, a backboard, a series or armenia-supporting arms on said backboar and extending forward therefrom, side rails, wheeled supports for said arallel backboard and movable on said rails, auxiliary rail sections pivotally mounted to assume positions in line with 4the'first mentioned rails or to lie transversal in the trunk, and means to fasten the auxi iary rail sections to each other when disposed transversely.

4. In a wardrobe trunk, vertical sidewall members bounding the garment hanging space, a pair of horizontal rails fixed upon each side wall. a wheeled carriage mounted to roll on said rails toward and from the back wall of the trunk, supporting arms carried by said carriage, and stop means at the forward ends of the rails to limit the forward movement of the carriage and arms, said stop means including pivoted auxiliary front end sections of the rails, the lower auxiliary rail of each pair having a downwardly extending lug against which a portion of the carriage is adapted to strike.

5. In a wardrobe trunk, a garment supporting carriage movable toward and from the rear wall of the trunk, said carriage comprising a pair of vertical side plates, a backboard having its ends projected through and interlocked in said side plates, supporting wheels journaled on the side plates, garment supporting means attached to 'and extending forward from the backboard, and means attached to the side walls ofthe trunk for supporting the wheels.

6. Mechanism as set forth in claim 5 in which the vertical side plates of the carria e are of sheet metal and provided a5 Wit vertical slits and the backboard is of channel form having dat end members projected through said slits, and the garment supporting means is secured to the backboard between the upper and lower flanges of the channel construction.

7. Mechanism as set forth in claim 5 in ALBERT L. DUFF. JAMES WM. MATHESON. 

